To Break A Crystal, To Break A Cycle
by Randomblackberry
Summary: Normal ending spoilers! Set in chapter 8. The last Crystal. The cycle was finally ending. They were so close. But in the end they broke the Crystal and in the end they broke the cycle. Rated T for violence. I guess. Done a while ago, so bad and no pairings.


**I wrote this a while ago and never posted it. I found it recently. So here ya go! Line breaks aren't working. My replacement line breaks aren't working. I don't own bravely default**

"Rampart!" Edea yelled.

The rampart barrier appeared in front of them, protecting them as Gigas Lich sent down a slam.

"Curaga!" Agnés said, washing white magic over the monster, killing it.

Everyone sighed in relief. This Gigas Lich had been even harder to defeat than it had been in the last world.

If the beasts kept getting stronger? If it didn't work this time. How were they supposed to defeat them?

The Warriors of light were shook out of their thoughts by Airy.

"Hurry up and awaken the Crystal before we are beset by more beasts!" She exclaimed.

"Of course." Agnés said.

Edea helped Agnés into her vestal garb.

"I do hope it works this time." Agnés said, as Edea loosened the tangles in her hair with a comb.

"Me, too Agnés. But if it doesn't work this time, I don't know what we're going to do. We can't keep running around in circles awakening crystals. It has all of us, you especially, exhausted." Edea admitted. "It's just... I'm beginning to wonder if it's just going to go around in circles forever."

Pause.

"Sorry." Edea said as she battled with an extremely severe knot in Agnés's hair. "Your hair is a mess."

"Are we awakening the crystals wrong?" Agnés asked. "I fear that we may be overdoing it."

"I don't know. It might... Maybe there's nothing wrong in doing something slightly different." Edea said awkwardly.

"I wish to know more of the crystals. If I understood more than maybe we wouldn't be in this mess." Agnés said, sadness touching her voice.

"Maybe you should ask Airy?" Edea suggested, but her voice made it sound like sarcasm.

"She doesn't seem to know what's going on either... But she's a Cryst-fairy. She's supposed to know everything!" Agnés exclaimed.

Edea put down the comb and admired her work.

"Maybe she doesn't know what she's doing either."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The Earth Crystal, as it had been 4 times previously, was clutched by darkness. Agnés kneeled before it and denied Airy's request to explain how to awaken the Crystal. She had done it... How many times now? The idea that she couldn't instantly recall the number sent fear shooting through her bones. It was time for change, this time she would try something different.

They had failed, so many times to rid the world of darkness.

The Great Chasm was still there, an ugly hole in the middle of Luxendarc.

Was this right? Was what Agnés doing right? Agnés dragged herself out of her daze. Had to try again. Had to keep trying and trying. Agnés wouldn't stop.

Agnés prayed, sent her hopes and dreams shooting into the Crystal.

It throbbed and a brilliant light shone, one that Agnés was very familiar with.

"Not yet! Just a little longer!"

But Agnés barely heard Airy. She was out of control, praying, and pain shot through her body, pain and exhaustion, but still she prayed.

"More! Keep going!"

Agnés could feel herself tiring but urged herself onwards. She had to do this. Had to.

"Still not enough! You can do this!"

The Crystal was shaking violently and the light grew brighter.

"Stop! That's it!"

Agnés didn't even hear her. She was lost in praying to the Crystal.

"...Agnés? Stop, I said stop!"

This, Agnés did hear, but she realised she couldn't stop. She was lost, lost in the prayers of the Crystal.

"I told you this is dangerous. Hello? Can you even hear me?"

Stop. Agnés told herself. You have to stop. But some other part of Agnés pushed her forward, battled the guilt and pain and exhaustion.

Agnés gasped as a sudden jolt of pain shot through her, followed by adrenaline. Couldn't stop now. Couldn't.

"Agnés, stop this! You'll destroy the Crystal!"

Destroy... The Crystal?

Agnés almost faltered before some part of her mind dredged up the conversation between Airy and Ringabel. What would happen if the Crystal would be broken? Agnés remembered the talk Tiz had with her, about Ringabel's memories and Airy's true intentions. She had placed her trust in Ringabel. Now it was time for them to trust her.

Agnés gasped again. She was so close. She could feel it, the Crystal was raging out of control. Just a little longer.

"Stop, please. You have to stop Agnés. Why are you doing this?"

Agnés cried out. She... Was this what she wanted?

Tiz's voice cut through the barrier her mind had placed up.

"What's the matter Agnés?"

"Should we do something?" Edea. "Do we stop her?"

"Agnés." Was all Ringabel said.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Before the whole world is destroyed! Please, Agnés we've worked so hard to save it! Don't throw it all away!"

But they had failed. Agnés was just trying something new, maybe this would work, maybe the crystals were actually evil, like the Grand marshal said.

"Don't you care about your friends? Aren't I your friend too?"

Was she? Agnés was in so deep a haze she couldn't even distinguish friend from foe.

"So please, listen to me! Listen to me!"

But Agnés didn't hear those words, just the sound of the Crystal, roaring at her hungrily.

"I don't know how this will turn out, but I'm with Agnés to the end."

That was Tiz. Tiz's voice. He trusted her.

"Count me in too. I won't abandon her."

Ringabel. He trusted her.

Would Edea...

"This is so nerve wracking . But... I trust you Agnés. Do what you need to do!"

She trusted her. Her friends all trusted her. Except Airy.

Did that make Airy her foe?

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Edea watched in horror as Agnés prayed to the shaking Crystal whilst Airy screamed.

"My Father. And master Kamiizumi... They knew! They knew all along!"

She had ignored the truth, seen their goal as black hearted. But they were just trying to save the world. All of them. Just trying to save the world.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Agnés! Don't listen to her! It won't be long until she reveals her true colours!"

Ringabel yelled as Airy continued to plead with Agnés.

His head was pounding as the past got mixed up with the present. Which one was real? Edea... The same fairy in front of him was killing her.

But... What?

"Ugh, rude! I'm-"

"Enough lies! I've finally remembered everything!" Ringabel interrupted as the pieces began to fall back into place.

Airy noticeably began to panic and looked suddenly horribly nervous.

"The creature I saw slaughter Edea that day..." Ringabel said, deciding not to add that he saw it almost every night in his nightmares as well.

"The Evil One?" Tiz asked, looking at Airy in shock.

"Yes! And that evil one is you, Airy!" Ringabel exclaimed, saying what he had wanted to say for an extremely long time.

Another memory resurfaced, Airy in her cute fairy form, giggling in glee. Pure evil flashed in her eyes as she spoke.

Ringabel readied his sword. Finally he would get to kill that monstrous little fairy and avenge Edea.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Agnés, I think this really will destroy the Crystal! Are you sure about this?" Edea asked.

It was all her fault that this was happening! She was the one that had gotten the idea of change into Agnés's mind. But she hadn't meant this! Was this right? Was this wrong?

A scream from Agnés, so full of pain it made Edea reel back in shock.

"I...Intend... To destroy... The Crystal! That is what I must do... Is it not, Tiz?"

"Stop! You really are going to destroy it!"

Agnés knew that, of course, she knew she was going to destroy the Crystal. That was what she was trying to do, that's what she should have done all along. Right?

"This is my last warning. If you don't stop now..."

So close. So so close. Had to keep going. Had too...

"Stop."

Agnés noticed the change in her voice and felt fear forcing another cry of protest out of her throat.

"Stop!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Agnés could see Airy, purple tufts of smoke surrounding her. Was Agnés hurting her? A huge ball of energy formed around Airy as Agnés tried to shut everything out. Tried to focus.

Purple smoke was everywhere, so Agnés closed her eyes, so all she could see was darkness and all she could feel was the familiar beat of the crystal

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The sight of... Airy, made Tiz and Edea instantly recoil. It was... What adjectives could be used to even describe that... Thing.

"This is the fiend's true form." Ringabel explained.

Ah, so this was the thing that plagued Ringabel's nightmares and killed the Tiz, Agnés and Edea of his world. Just looking at the thing made Tiz shudder. He would have nightmares about it too.

If he survived.

"Don't stop, Agnés. Destroy the Crystal!" Ringabel pressed.

"I will!" Agnés's pained voice replied.

"We'll protect you, whatever happens." Ringabel promised.

"Put your faith in us!" Tiz yelled, going into a fighting stance.

"I will!" Agnés repeated with difficulty.

And then it struck...

"The air... It's choked with evil." Tiz said, sweaty hands gripping his sword.

Airy laughed, evilly.

"Don't you recognise me? It's your old friend Airy, boy. And after all the worlds we linked as one. All the battles we fought together!"

Ringabel examined the beast.

"Weak to fire." He told Tiz, who was a spellfencer.

"Right." Tiz replied, putting firaga on his sword.

Edea defaulted, saving her BP.

"You've seen too much not to understand. The world is not a singular existence. An endless array of Luxendarcs exists at once. An infinite line of worlds in parallel..." Airy said, in her new low growl.

"That's obvious enough by now." Ringabel, said, sounding irritated.

"And in piercing the walls that divide them, I've gained power." Airy said gleefully. "Power beyond the reckoning of mortals. Enough to bring about a grand and final end. To trigger the catastrophe! I owe you a great deal, my friends. For my power alone, could not have broken the world walls. Not without the aid of the crystals set to rampage!"

Tiz attacked with his sword, hacking at the beast in front of him.

"Then, the great chasm! That's your doing!" He cried out.

"Please, don't be modest." Airy said, appearing to relish every word. "Or have you forgotten your contribution? The lot of you were eager to assist. We tore that void open together. And siphoned through an army of monsters from the nether what's more. I'm sure the locals were less than thrilled."

Airy laughed again, somehow sounding even more menacing.

Tiz could feel the rage and guilt build up inside him. He attacked again and barely noticed Ringabel using love power to assist him and Edea using one of the Templar's fancy moves.

"You lied to us!" Edea said, her voice full of hurt and anger.

"And you made it so easy. A fine pack of puppets you lot. Not a thought of your own, so eager to obey. Because obeying is so easy hmm?" Airy replied.

"You're never responsible when you're only following orders. And who would doubt what seems so obvious? Who bears the courage to disobey? Precious few. Not one human in a thousand."

Tiz wanted to unleash his fury at the beast but before Tiz could even say anything, Airy spoke again.

"Now, my lambs, to slaughter!"

Tiz just saw the beast move and then the ground rushed up and hit him in the face.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Agnés could hear the conversations behind her, even when praying to the Crystal. She heard the sound of her friends falling, their bodies hitting the ground and almost lost hope. She could sense Airy was nearby and she whimpered, trying to focus,

"I... I've been a fool. How could I not have seen this for the beastly trap it is?"

Agnés cried.

Agnés opened her eyes and stared into the blinding light of the Crystal.

"Grant me this prayer. If it is not too late. Save this world. Save my friends."

As the last word left her mouth, the Crystal shattered into pieces, leaving the room in darkness. She had done what she had needed to do. Agnés let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Her eyes fell from the empty darkness to her Pendant. She cradled it in her hand

"What's this?" She heard Airy behind her.

"Was this right? Mother Vestal... Olivia... Sage." Agnés cried.

Agnés hugged her body and shivered as her salty tears came dripping down her face and dropping onto the floor beneath her.

"So much hurt." She continued. "So much suffering in my wake."

Anger fuelling her, she turned around and ran at Airy unarmed.

With one swipe of the beast's claw Agnés went flying and hit the hard cold floor.

And until the angel spoke and took her away, that was where she remained.

The Crystal, the cycle. It had been shattered.

"The last one!" Airy growled. "To be at the very last one, to be denied another five millennia? Gah! I will go bid my time in the Dark Aurora. The search for a new Vestal and warriors will hold. First I must find a Crystalline core!"

Airy left with infuriating slowness not realising that what she was looking for, was in the pendant that hung around Agnés's neck.


End file.
